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'Fast & Furious 7' Filming Action Scenes on Pikes Peak Next Month

Well the cat's out of the bag on this one. A report in the local Colorado Springs newspaper The Gazette (my hometown!) claims that Universal will be filming a scene for an upcoming movie on Pikes Peak throughout September. Their sources say it's none other than Fast & Furious 7, the next sequel in the Fast & Furious franchise being directed by James Wan. If coincidences are any confirmation, Paul Walker was recently the Grand Marshal of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb (aka "The Race to the Clouds"), an annual racing event that takes place on a 12 mile stretch of paved road that winds 4,720 ft. up to the summit of the famous mountain.

The Gazette says a press release was sent out by the city of Colorado Springs, which is where I grew up and where this website was started, stating that the highway on Pikes Peak will be "entirely or partially closed in early September" for filming. Hikers can still climb the mountain and the Cog Railroad will still be open. In an attempt to confirm which Universal film was shooting, a spokeperson said "they told me that they are not allowed to release that information" but other sources have stated that it is Fast & Furious 7. Locals have already spotted cars and other vehicles being shipped in and prepared to shoot on the Peak. "The film crew will be on the mountain for two weeks, and when the highway is open, visitors are welcome on the summit."

It was just reported a few days ago that Thai martial arts star Tony Jaa was joining the cast of James Wan's Fast & Furious 7, which is being fast-tracked for a July 2014 release next summer. No other plot details are known yet, but we can safely say there will be a car chase action scene on the side of a mountain, specifically on the curvy, iconic Pikes Peak Highway (see more photos here). However, as is usual for major Hollywood productions, this location might double for an unspecified mountain somewhere else in the world in the actual story, and we'll have to wait to find out how exactly Pikes Peak will be featured in the movie, if at all.

In the original press release, the city of Colorado Springs said that the filming "will benefit both the City of Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak - America's Mountain," which doesn't mean much. It's anyone's guess as to how/why Dom and Brian end up in Colorado, and who they're going after on the side of a mountain. I hope the writers don't forget that the only road to get to the bottom is the same road they take to get to the top.